Ron Miller | Dune (1984)

The private collection of Ron Miller

CONCEPT ART FROM THE FIRST FILM ADAPTATION OF “DUNE,” DIRECTLY FROM AN ARTIST WHO ADAPTED IT FROM FRANK HERBERT’S NOVEL

Frank Herbert’s novel is well known for its sprawling epic across four wildly different planets. The present lot brings to life the world of Giedi Prime, the domain of House Harkonnen. The sworn enemies of House Atreides, the Harkonnens live in a world of oil oceans. New York Times reporting on the Dune 1984 production detailed the “ugly, plastic look,” of the setting, with the note that “living there is like living inside a factory.”

For David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation — the first film adaptation of the iconic novel— Ron Miller’s job “was to work from the script and [production designer Tony] Masters’s drawings to create large-scale paintings that would show what key scenes would look like in the final film” (Gizmodo). Another vital part of Miller’s work was to “impress the film’s financers […]fill[ing] a room with paintings, sketches, storyboards and models” (Gizmodo). This second purpose meant that illustrations such as the present lot were fundamental in bringing not only Herbert's and Lynch's vision to life in the imaginations of the production team, but also in inspiring continued support for the film.

Miller was especially impressed with "the immense effort that went into the quality and attention to [...]every detail.” Miller reminisced on the driving philosophy behind the approach to worldbuilding: “Things that belonged to Caladan, Arrakis, or Giedi Prime reflected the culture, history, and materials native to those worlds. The test of any costume or prop was to be able, by its appearance alone, tell what planet it came from. I think this philosophy went a long way into giving Dune its unique look…and it’s a philosophy I’ve rarely seen employed in any other science fiction movie.”

The present lot reflects that vibrant imagining of the Dune universe, as well as how much care went into bringing that vision to the silver screen.